The fourth edition of the Life in the Valley Economy series reports that widening income inequality endangers the middle class and in a consumer-based economy, a weaker middle class threatens the economy as a whole. The report's Solutions section calls for policy changes such as a higher minimum wage, full implementation of national health reform and other public-sector measure to remedy the situation.

This third edition documents a dire employment situation that may foreshadow a "jobless recovery" excluding working families, perhaps an indicator for the nation. In addition, it includes a Solutions section that focuses on some of the region's public policy choices.

This is the second annual LIVE report. It examines the state of Silicon Valley's economy through the lens of middle-class and working-class households trying to make ends meet, This publication updates the data and analysis provided in LIVE 2007 and adds a special "Solutions" section.

"Economically, working and middle-class families in Santa Clara County remain worse off today than in 2000. Incomes have fallen while the cost of living continues to soar; residents face ballooning prices not just for housing, but also for utilities, gas, health care, education, and child care. Employment levels have finally ceased a headlong rush downward and even begun to grow a bit, but we have not come close to recovering the jobs that we so recently lost. The region's largest job-producing industries remain depressed. Officially, unemployment is low, but far too many of us have been forced to accept substandard, insecure jobs, and some have given up the job search altogether. With wages stagnating, the housing market faltering, and higher payments on thousands of adjustable-rate mortgages beginning to come due, Silicon Valley's residents face an increasingly uncertain future."--Executive summary.